The Red, White, and Green

If you haven’t been following the “Made in America” series from ABC World News, it’s definitely worth a watch (and check out the interactive map, above). Last night’s show featured a home in Bozeman, MT, that was built entirely from American-made materials — right down to its custom-made J bolts.

The builder, Anders Lewendal, is also an economist; he believes that if every builder in the country used just 5 percent more American materials, we’d have 220,000 more jobs.

Is it a coincidence that the word economy also contains the word eco? By buying American-made, you’re also, as a general rule, making the greener choice, since you’re avoiding the extra fuel expense to ship those foreign-made goods halfway around the globe.

In some cases, you’re also minimizing waste; David Muir noted in the report last night that American-made nails clog the nail gun less frequently than the China-made ones.

Only 50 years ago, foreign goods comprised a mere 8 percent of Americans’ purchases. Today, nearly 60 percent of everything we buy is imported. To buy American costs more in many cases, yes, but I see the extra expense almost like tithing — whatever you give will come back to us ten-fold.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Brandeating.com

Just as I was starting to feel hopeful about our fast food nation moving toward a good food nation, I get slapped with this unfortunate news: Looks like the new Heinz “Dip and Squeeze” ketchup packets are coming to market. What’s the problem with more convenient packaging, you ask?

It’s not the package itself I’m upset about. It’s what the package says about the type of country we’ve become; that is to say, lazy and really fat, as this Wall Street Journal article shows (my bold):

Some people rip off the corner of the packet with their teeth. Others, while driving, squirt the ketchup directly into their mouth, then add fries. Some forgo fries at the drive-through all together to keep from creating a mess in the car.

After observing these and other “compensating behaviors,” H. J. Heinz Co. says it spent three years developing a better ketchup packet.

Million-dollar solution: The “Dip and Squeeze” packet, which lets frustrated French fry eaters squeeze ketchup out of one end, or pull back the lid for easy dippin’. Want to hear more about the R&D process? Read on.

To develop the new packet, Heinz staffers sat behind one-way, mirrored glass, watching consumers in 20 fake minivan interiors putting ketchup on fries, burgers, and chicken nuggets.

To try new prototypes himself, Mike Okoroafor, Heinz vice president of global packaging innovation and execution, bought a used minivan, taking it to local McDonald’s and Wendy’s drive-throughs to order fries and apply ketchup in the confined space.

“I wasn’t going to use my car — too messy,” he says.

Reading this makes me realize: We have a long, long way to go. Maybe I should just be happy that there will be less wasted ketchup packets headed to the landfill?

–Jennifer Grayson

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[Click here to watch video on YouTube]

No one would ever accuse me of being a spendthrift, but I am an easy sell for those in-store demos at Whole Foods. Or when folks invite you over to their stalls at the farmers market to taste samples. There’s just something about meeting the actual person behind the product — hearing his or her story, seeing the passion that went into creating it — I can never say no.

Clearly the folks at Abe’s Market are hip to the power of that format, which is why they recently launched Abe’s LIVE — an interactive online show where the sellers of the amazingly cool and boutiquey natural products on the site can demonstrate their wares, and where viewers can send questions to the on-air guests. Think Etsy meets Whole Foods meets Home Shopping Network.

And it’s addictively entertaining: I tuned in a few weeks ago on a morning when I had about 100 emails to answer and a feature deadline that afternoon. Not the wisest idea. (But I did “discover” a fabulous new chemical-free sunscreen called eco FACE that doesn’t leave you looking like Casper.)

The show also regularly features natural living experts; last week, it was yours truly. (Spoiler alert: There may be opera singing involved.) Watch, above, and then set your reminders for Abe’s LIVE tomorrow at 2pm EST — you won’t want to miss the fun!

–Jennifer Grayson

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[Watch video on Smarter Life Better Planet website]

Earth Day is one week from today, and I have to say: It’s been a bit disheartening to see what began in earnest as a call for environmental action turn into just another Hallmark holiday. I won’t be a jerk and call out specific companies, but in the past month-plus, I’ve received Earth Day-related product pitches for everything from recycled pens to a melatonin/vitamin blend. It’s great to see green become mainstream, but come on! We’re better than this.

We don’t need all this stuff. And calling the stuff “eco” doesn’t make the stuff OK.

Thank you to the folks at Haier for inviting me as a speaker for their Smarter Life Better Planet campaign, which is featuring videos from 30 environmental thought leaders in 30 days — including No Impact Man Colin Beavan and Earth Hour co-founder Andy Ridley — as a lead-up to Earth Day. (I do see the irony here, since Haier makes “stuff”; but much of it falls into the “necessary” category. Well, for modern life, anyway.)

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Flickr: Kevin Krejci

Got some good news yesterday: My husband and I will be receiving a sizable tax refund this year. For now, we’ll be saving the money for necessities and a rainy day — these are uncertain times, after all. But a funny thing happened once I allowed myself to start daydreaming about the possibilities. I started thinking like a (gasp!) consumer.

My thought trail went something like this: Oh, those are cute dresses on that website. And pretty affordable, too. With the refund money, I could probably get a few. But then, I should probably neaten up my closet first before I buy anything new, so maybe I’ll finally get those space-saving hangers I saw at Bed Bath & Beyond. Ooh, and my husband’s birthday is coming up, so I can get him a really nice present… And so on and so on until I spent all the money and then some.

Now obviously, this is a fantasy. But my theoretical shopping spree got me thinking: When you’re a have-not, it’s easy to be thrifty; to seek out experiences instead of stuff; to be mindful of the fact that as Americans, we are 5 percent of the world’s population yet consume 30 percent of its resources; to be forced by mere circumstance to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But how do you keep consumption in check when you suddenly become a have?

–Jennifer Grayson

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In light of the recent news that even dollar bills are contaminated with BPA, you’d think I’d be more vigilant than ever about exposure to the toxic chemical, swabbing myself down at the checkout line and swearing off cash forever (not that I had that much of it to begin with). In fact, it’s had almost the opposite effect: I kind of feel like we’re all screwed anyway, especially since the failure of the BPA ban amendment to the food safety bill. So I’ve been letting myself buy the occasional can of chopped tomatoes, and I’m still eating sardines. (I’m really playing with fire here.)

Still, I’m always excited when a new product in BPA-free packaging comes out, because that means that at least the market is responding to consumer demands.

Enter, new amber glass jars of Eden Organic tomatoes and pasta sauces. I’ve long relied on Eden for its BPA-free canned beans, but the company had yet to move on to tomatoes. It’s interesting that Eden went with amber glass (which protects the tomatoes from photo-oxidation) instead of BPA-free cans; I guess it decided the former was a better choice for its bottom line.

At $3.92 for a 25-ounce jar of crushed tomatoes, though, the price may be out of reach for most Americans. But it’s nice to know there’s now an option for those with the budget for their BPA-phobia.

My only question is: What about the lid? It only says on the website that the glass is BPA-free. Stay tuned.

Update: A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the lids on the amber glass jars are not completely BPA-free: The inside of the twist caps are finished with two coats of sealant, the first of which contains BPA. The second, which is the one that could potentially come in contact with the tomato product inside, does not. The risk of BPA contamination is also minimized by the area of air between the food and the inside of the cap. Eden tried, but was not able to find a viable alternative. Inventors, get to work!

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo: GoodbyeSugar.com

I felt like George in “The Marine Biologist” episode. “Could anyone please tell me what the difference is between these two?!” the woman cried out, her three children clinging to her in the baking aisle of our local Trader Joe’s. She was holding two containers of stevia extract.

I walked over and took a glance. “Well, one is regular and the other is organic,” I said, and turned to continue my shopping.

“What is organic?” she asked.

I felt myself stand a little taller. “It means it was grown without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers, and that it hasn’t been genetically modified,” I said.

She looked at me like I had three heads. “But both say natural,” she countered. “And why does this one have the ingredients listed but this one doesn’t?”

Oh, no. I was in for a whopper. “Well, the label natural doesn’t really mean anything — nearly anyone can make that claim. And because the organic one is just pure stevia, there’s no need to list other ingredients. The conventional one, though, also contains lactose.”

“What’s that?”

“A sugar that’s usually derived from milk.”

“So it’s not kosher?” (The woman was orthodox; I live in a very orthodox neighborhood.)

“No. But let’s take a look a the organic one,” I offered. It took me a moment to decipher the four symbols slapped on the side of the tiny bottle — including the USDA Organic seal and a gluten-free logo. “Well, it doesn’t have the ‘K’ symbol, but it does have the ‘vegan’ sign — so at least you know you can have it with meat,” I proferred.

Still, three heads.

My 3-month-old daughter let out a little yelp as she woke from her nap in the baby sling. “Good luck!” I said, and hustled up to the register. When I looked back, the woman was still standing there deciding between the two.

I take it for granted that most people know what I know, but they don’t. Heck, this woman was reading labels, and she still couldn’t figure out what it all meant. The IOM report was right: The US food labeling system needs an overhaul.

–Jennifer Grayson

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If you haven’t seen the Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign yet, it’s quite the sob story: According to a study by (guess who?) Huggies, 1 in 3 American families struggles to provide disposable diapers. And you can help: Just buy diapers from (again, Huggies), donate your rewards points, and Huggies will donate one diaper for every two points you contribute. Quite the marketing campaign.

I mean, has anyone every heard of cloth diapers? It should come as no surprise that in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, the average American family is having trouble coughing up around $1,000 a year for disposables. A decent cloth system (like the one we use from GroVia), on the other hand, will cost you less than $400, all in. You can find them used (not as gross as it sounds) for half the price on eBay or Craigslist. And there are more and more daycare centers that will accept them.

I know what you’re going to say — people who are struggling don’t have time for the inconvenience of cloth diapers. But a) there are a lot of things that are inconvenient when you have to make ends meet, b) cloth diapers aren’t all that inconvenient, and c) that’s the same excuse people give for feeding their kids cheap fast food instead of learning how to cook. Whatever happened to American resourcefulness?

–Jennifer Grayson

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Want to wipe that smirk off a Republican’s face? Consider toting this around town this weekend. (Disclaimer: Not all Republicans are homophobic. But 69 percent oppose gay marriage.)

From Revel & Riot, the 100 percent natural canvas tote bag packs twice the anti-plastic punch. The first, of course, is environmental: Up to a trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year, and as little as .5 percent are recycled. The second, if you haven’t guessed it by now, is political: The slogan is a reference to the repulsively inhuman hate campaigner Fred Phelps, who along with his followers picket gay pride events and military funerals.

Not surprisingly, the eye-catching tote bag is currently out of stock. But you can pre-order it here for shipment on Nov. 29. I don’t have much more to say than that. Because the bag says it all.

–Jennifer Grayson

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[Watch video on WGNTV.com]

If you think the word budget shouldn’t come within 10 sentences of the word baby, think again: Babies actually require very little in the beginning. They don’t need much entertaining, the milk is free, and all those bouncers and activity stations and fancy outfits will do little more than add clutter to your once well organized abode once you realize that your little one is a sleeping/eating/pooping machine that will turn whatever outfit he or she is wearing into a giant napkin.

You want to make sure, however, that the essentials you do buy are as safe and healthy as possible. There are more than 80,000 industrial chemicals on the market in the United States today, few are regulated, and many of the most harmful ones — like BPA, formaldehyde, and dioxin — make it into baby products.

So check out some of my favorite picks for a lean, green nursery, above, that I shared with WGN Chicago viewers last Friday. They’ll leave you with enough spare change to start Junior’s college fund.

–Jennifer Grayson

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